We are rebranding Poster Awards- OAAN President
By Felicia Nwosu
Emmanuel Ajufo, President, Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria, OAAN, has assured all the actors and players in OOH that the Association is reviewing and rebranding the popular Poster Awards. This he noted, is to reward and recognise agencies that abide by AISOP rules and regulations since it was unveiled 5 months ago.
The president explained that OOH for years has longed for a reform that will take a holistic approach to the business side of advertising, adding that today; AISOP has brought the needed respite and backings and so, must be accorded some special recognition.
He revealed this to MARKETING EDGE during an exclusive interview, where he narrated the Association’s ordeals from signage agencies which led to a brief hiatus from organising the annual awards. Ajufo said the award ceremony, together with the Advertising Day celebration will be back in a more rebranded and robust outing this year
The outdoor advertising boss stated that the popular Poster Awards, which is aimed at promoting and rewarding creativity among outdoor advertising practitioners, will probably take place in October. He also disclosed that the prestigious award was put on a hold due to the inability to cope with some of the challenges posed by signage agencies such as the removal of boards across various locations of the state.
“We had regulatory challenges and a lot of it led to the issue of not doing what we were supposed to be doing traditionally. Tell me, when your boards are being removed by signage agencies, what is there to celebrate. Though these challenges are not resolved yet, OAAN is known for poster awards, so we must bring it back.”
Revealing the big plan for the rejuvenated award, Ajufo disclosed that in the bid to promote and support AISOP, this year’s edition of the award will be going beyond creativity.
“Our business has also gone beyond the normal Poster Award. We will also have to evolve with the trends. I know that one of the things that will be included will be rewarding those agencies that also play according to the rules of AISOP. We must use such a platform to encourage AISOP. Those who do well will be rewarded. A committee has been set up that is also going to organise our Advertising Day, if anybody is going to talk about outdoor advertising, it should be OOH and not signage agencies. They should collaborate with us if they want to; we are going to be pairing our awards with our Advertising Day.”
Noting that the electioneering year is a year of activities, Mr. Ajufo reaffirmed the fact that it comes with several terms and conditions which he said is out of the jurisdiction of the signage agencies.
His words: “Election year may be a season of boom, but again, it also comes with challenges, for instance, some signage agencies are requesting that we submit our political material for vetting before display. The signage agencies by law, are not supposed to vet advert materials, APCON is the only one instituted and authorised to vet advert material and once APCON has vetted your material, nobody has the right to stop it from being displayed.”
He, therefore, called on the authorities to caution non-professionals who take advantage of the election period to cause environmental nuisance. “Again, non-practitioners are also using this period to put up structures. Only professions are allowed to do this but because they come from the high and mighty, they are allowed to do what they like and immediately after election, they will abandon these structures which go rickety with time and pose environmental nuisance. At this period, the whole blame will come to OAAN. The period has its good and ugly sides”, Ajufo concluded.
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